Types of Wood
Not all wood is the same: some types of wood have peculiar characteristics depending on their geographical origin and their physical and molecular structure.
Here are some of the main types of woods used to make barrels:
- Allier Oak: With its characteristic golden color with warm pinkish reflections, it grows in France in the department of the same name. It is compact, dense, and rich in vanillin components and tannins that can ensure prolonged aging.
- Nevers Oak: It grows a little further north than Allier (Loire Valley, France) and can be considered an excellent alternative.
- Tronçais Oak: Like the previous one, it comes from the Loire Valley. It is part of the Allier region, with even more pronounced characteristics than the previous one.
- Cher Oak: This type of oak has characteristics that lie between Allier and Limousin.
- Limousin Oak: It grows not far from the Cognac region and, like Poitou oak, has coarse porosity richer in astringent tannins.
- Slavonian Oak: Less prestigious than its noble French counterparts, it is mainly used to make large barrels.
- Chestnut: Chestnut wood contains a high amount of tannins and imparts a lot of color to the distillate.
- Cherry: This wood can give interesting notes of intense color, although the aromatic contributions to the distillate are not very significant.
- Acacia: It imparts a beautiful golden color with greenish reflections to the distillate, with fascinating aromatic notes.
- Juniper: Not usable, at least from new, for long aging due to its strong and powerful aromatic note that hardly blends with the dominant aroma of Grappa. However, it is delightful when used sparingly.
- Almond: This wood gives the distillate an intense golden color with amber reflections and interesting olfactory and gustatory notes.
- Ash: Rarely used in long aging, it ensures minimal color transfer to the distillate but offers refined aromatic tones in return.
- Apple: Mainly releases color but is not very interesting from an aromatic point of view.
- Mulberry: Gives a beautiful golden yellow to the distillate with subtle aromatic notes that are much appreciated.
Here are some of the main types of woods used to make barrels:
- Allier Oak: With its characteristic golden color with warm pinkish reflections, it grows in France in the department of the same name. It is compact, dense, and rich in vanillin components and tannins that can ensure prolonged aging.
- Nevers Oak: It grows a little further north than Allier (Loire Valley, France) and can be considered an excellent alternative.
- Tronçais Oak: Like the previous one, it comes from the Loire Valley. It is part of the Allier region, with even more pronounced characteristics than the previous one.
- Cher Oak: This type of oak has characteristics that lie between Allier and Limousin.
- Limousin Oak: It grows not far from the Cognac region and, like Poitou oak, has coarse porosity richer in astringent tannins.
- Slavonian Oak: Less prestigious than its noble French counterparts, it is mainly used to make large barrels.
- Chestnut: Chestnut wood contains a high amount of tannins and imparts a lot of color to the distillate.
- Cherry: This wood can give interesting notes of intense color, although the aromatic contributions to the distillate are not very significant.
- Acacia: It imparts a beautiful golden color with greenish reflections to the distillate, with fascinating aromatic notes.
- Juniper: Not usable, at least from new, for long aging due to its strong and powerful aromatic note that hardly blends with the dominant aroma of Grappa. However, it is delightful when used sparingly.
- Almond: This wood gives the distillate an intense golden color with amber reflections and interesting olfactory and gustatory notes.
- Ash: Rarely used in long aging, it ensures minimal color transfer to the distillate but offers refined aromatic tones in return.
- Apple: Mainly releases color but is not very interesting from an aromatic point of view.
- Mulberry: Gives a beautiful golden yellow to the distillate with subtle aromatic notes that are much appreciated.
